


I know you do

by TuliaNayeli



Category: IT (2017)
Genre: Aged-Up Losers Club (IT), Alternate Universe - High School, Boys Kissing, F/M, Fights, Friends to Lovers, Internal crisis, M/M, Middle School could work as well, Richie and Eddie get their shit together, and get together, but they work it out, i think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-22 11:14:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15580722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TuliaNayeli/pseuds/TuliaNayeli
Summary: Eddie and Richie have a fight and instead of talking about it, they wait to angst about it before actually doing something about it, like the losers they are. They're both dumb pining boys but luckily they love eachother.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This could be either middle school or highschool but personally i see it as high school since im more comfortable portraying them in a relationship when theyre a lil older

Eddie is fucking angry.

He drops his lunch on the picnic table with a loud thump and sits down with an irritated huff. Stan lifts his head and mildly raises his eyebrows as if to ask what is wrong. The losers’ club had gotten used to Eddie’s easily irritated nature a long time ago.

It’s just the three of them today; Bill, Stan and Eddie.

Mike of course being home schooled and all. Ben and Bev supposedly 'studying' but more likely making out on the bleachers at the football field. And Richie being conveniently absent. 

And that when he'd wanted to ~~ask~~ demand an explanation. 

 

"What got you so upset?"

"Richie", he answers with another sigh.

"W-w-what did he do now? He isn't even here to-today."

"That's the problem! We had a fight yesterday and in the middle of it he just walked away without explaining anything. Fucking asshole." 

Whereas Stan didn't seem too interested before, he now looks intrigued. "That's weird. Richie loves to bicker, and especially with you. There's no way he would give up on a chance to annoy the fuck out of someone, let alone you. Besides, he always thinks he's right. " 

"W-what did you guys fight about?"

"Well we were walking home and I was talking about a fight I had with my mom and he just couldn't resist making a stupid your mom joke. So I told him to take something seriously for once in his fucking life. And do you know what he fucking said?"

Completely out of breath, Eddie doesn't even give his friends a chance to respond. "He said that he takes his love for my mom real serious! That fucking moron! So I gave him a piece of my mind." 

"Maybe he was just t-t-trying to cheer you up?" 

"He fucking knows I hate those jokes!"

"Yeah, but you also pretend to hate his nicknames and we all know you secretly love those. "

Eddie shoots Stan a wounded look. He does _not_. Okay maybe he does, but he for sure thought he hid it well.

 

Around him, Stan and Bill continue their conversation, but he tunes it out.

Eddie can slowly feel his anger leave him. And isn't that typical ? He knows he's not a _calm_ person. People describe him as hot headed, feisty (shudder), a tiny gay ball of rage (thanks Bev), short fused or simply angry a lot. And no one makes him more easily annoyed than Richie. 

But he can never stay mad at Richie for long. Especially because he knows the other boy's heart is in the right place. And the jokes function mostly as a sort of shield (besides the fact that Richie genuinely believes he is funny as hell).

 

_Shit._

 

"- like I love the guy but he needs to grow up." 

"Guys", Eddie says horrified, "I think I really fucked up." 

Stan and Bill turn back towards him with twin questioning looks.

"... I'm lost. I thought Richie was the one who fucked up?" 

"Well", Eddie takes a deep breath and looks over Stan's shoulder, "remember when I said I gave Richie a piece of my mind?" 

From the corner of his eyes he sees his friends nod.

"Well if he really was trying to cheer me up-" 

He breaks off and drags a shuddering hand over his face. Taking a deep breath, he continues. 

 

_"Please" he scoffed, "you wouldn't recognize a serious relationship if it punched you in the face. And how could you? Nothing you ever say has any real meaning. Have you ever even fucking said anything you really meant? You think you're so fucking funny but nothing you do has any meaning. You're a fucking child, Richie. Leave me alone."_

_He expected the other boy to put up a fight. To deny it. To cuss up a storm. But Richie just looked at him, pale as a ghost, and abruptly turned around._

_"Yeah, walking away, that's really mature!"_

 

"Damn, Eddie you really said that?" Stan asks him, sounding shocked.

"I don't know what I was thinking. I know the jokes are a way to say what he feels without repercussion. I just really want him to do without sometimes." 

"W-what do you mean w-without repercussion?" 

"You know, telling Ben that he's the kindest person he's ever met, then quickly tacking on a warning to Bev about keeping her man away from his charms. That way no one can call him out on the sappy compliment." 

Stan looks sceptical. "You mean to tell me that every time he says he missed me almost as much as he misses my mom, he's really just trying to say he missed me?" 

Eddie nods. "I think so yeah." 

Bill looks deep in thought.

"It-it does sound like that could be it.”

 

Eddie stands up abruptly. "I gotta go make this right. I'll tell the nurse I have a headache or something." 

As he's walking away, Stan grabs his sleeve. 

"Eddie, before you go. What does Richie joke about the most?" 

"I don't fucking know Stan, my mom?"  

Stan laughs quietly and shakes his head. "No Eddie. About how much he loves his Eddie spaghetti." 

 


	2. Chapter 2

_Nothing you do has any meaning_

 

Richie is pacing in his room. He couldn’t get himself to go to school this morning, so he just called his dad in Texas to have him call the school. Normally he hates the fact that his parents are so uninvolved and always away from home, but today it’s a blessing. He’s pretty sure even his parents would’ve picked up on how miserable he is.

 

Because he is. Fucking miserable that is. He and Eddie bicker constantly, he knows that. And Eddie always acts annoyed by him. But he always thought that was a front, that Eddie was secretly amused.

 

Yesterday, however, Eddie was really mad at him for the first time since they’ve known each other. And he was, quite frankly, completely unprepared. He still can’t wrap his head around it to be honest. Eddie seemed so _angry._ And he was so _harsh._ Richie feels tears spring to his eyes again.

 

He sits down on the bed and hugs his pillow close to his chest. He knows it was immature to just walk away from their argument, without explaining anything. But at that point he was so extremely hurt that he really couldn’t fathom looking Eddie in the face.

At the other hand, he can’t help but agreeing with Eddie. It’s not like he knows from experience at home how to form meaningful relationships. And lord knows he can be annoying and childish, it’s just like he can’t help it.

 

_"Please" Eddie scoffed, "you wouldn't recognize a serious relationship if it punched you in the face. And how could you? Nothing you ever say has any real meaning. Have you ever even fucking said anything you really meant? You think you're so fucking funny but nothing you do has any meaning. You're a fucking child, Richie. Leave me alone."_

_Nothing you do has any meaning_

_The words echo around in Richie’s head and all he can do his turn around and walk away. He can’t let Eddie see how his heart just shattered in his chest. He can’t let him know that if there’s one thing in his life he gives immeasurable meaning, it is his friendship with Eddie. Not when Eddie apparently thinks he’s just a child._

Tears are streaming down his face and his grip on the pillow turns his knuckles white. Just as the first sob escapes his throat, a stone hits his window. There’s a slight pause, then two stones rapidly after each other, another pause and a last stone.

 

It’s been some time since he heard last that code, probably when they were still kids, but he _knows_ it. Knows it like he knows the sound of an inhaler being used, or the sound of a fanny pack opening (that’s probably weird isn’t it?). He knows it could only be one persone.

 

_Nothing you do has any meaning_

 

Richie doesn’t want to see Eddie right know, but he has never been able to deny his best friend anything.

 

And so he shuffles downstairs, opens the door, and in a desperate attempt to postpone the inevitable conversation, hurries back towards his room.

 

In what feels like hours, but is probably more like two minutes, he hears Eddie’s footsteps on the stairs. He can’t make himself look up. He’s staring at his hands and swallows dryly. He can see Eddie’s feet as they come closer. Neither he nor Eddie say anything. He’s never been at a loss for what to say to Eddie. And he still can’t seem to make himself look up.

 

Then, a sob can be heard. He knows it’s not him, he’s been desperately trying to keep them in since he heard that first stone hit his window. That only leaves-

 

“Will you please look at me, Richie?”

 

He knows Eddie well enough to hear that the other boy has been crying. And that, more than his plea, gets him to finally to look up.

 

The moment he looks up, and, so he assumes, shows Eddie he has been crying as well, he has a lap full of crying Eddie.

 

“I-I’m so so sorry!”

 

He’s confused. He knows Eddie was harsh, but he just told Richie how he felt. How he probably has felt for a long time. Richie has been annoying him for years know.

 

He chuckles humourlessly, “It’s alright Eds. I’m just glad I know now.”

 

He hates how his voice cracks on the last word. It’s not Eddie’s fault he can’t handle the truth.

 

Two tiny fists grip his shirt and shake him roughly. “It’s not. Richie. It’s fucking not. I was tired and upset, and yeah, your joke was stupid, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

 

“I know I’m annoy-“

 

The hands travel up towards his face and Richie feels himself going nearly cross eyed trying to keep looking Eddie in the eyes.

 

“Now you listen closely to me Trashmouth. You’re not annoying, you just sometimes do shit that is annoying. So does everyone. But more importantly. You matter. You do and say things that matter all the time. You mean something. You mean _a lot_ to me.”

 

By the time Eddie is finished, his chest is heaving. Richie gets the feeling Eddie prepared this speech on the way over, and it shows because he doesn’t think anyone has ever said anything more meaningful to him.

 

“Eds, I..” he breaks off, not sure how to respond to that.

 

Luckily, Eddie seems to know how to go from here.

 

“I know you use jokes as a form of protection. As a way of keeping life sweet and easy. I _know_ you mean what you joke about. I know you love us. And we love you too Trahsmouth. _I_ love you.”

 

Tears spring into his eyes for a completely different reason now. He looks into Eddie’s eyes and sees the same meaning, the same love, he feels echoed in there.

 

He doesn’t think anything could’ve stopped him from leaning in and closing his lips onto Eddie’s.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

(( They talk and make out for the rest of the night. They lay in Richie’s bed, exchanging apologies, confessions and kisses in the dark. Eddie tells him how much he loves him time and time again, like he knows how much Richie has been aching to hear those words for years.

 

Eddie however, does not tell him that his revelation came during a talk with Stan and Bill. So when they’re making out at the lunch table the next day and Stan calls them out on it, nothing could’ve prepared him for the heartfelt his joke got.

 

“You guys, I’m really happy for you, but could you please stop sucking faces for five minutes?”

“Awh, Stan my man, are you jealous? Don’t worry, I’ll still love you at night if you behave.”

“I love you too Trashmouth.”

 

Richie will deny until his dying breath he got wet eyes (he so did) but somehow, with Eddie’s hand in his, it didn’t matter that much anyways. ))

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I know this was really sappy but hey, that's how I roll. And I mean, canon is angst enough so *shrugs*
> 
> Come find me on tumblr @crystalsbooksandtea


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